Ravenclaw Misadventures
by Silverhand9028
Summary: The other side of the story 'Slytherin Misadventures' by CookietheNinja. Jack and Toni have been friends all their life. But when they get to Hogwarts, Toni falls for Draco Malfoy and Jack becomes friends with Luna Lovegood. Amidst betrayal, chaos and romance, can their friendship stay strong?
1. First Day at Hogwarts

**Hello!**

**I know I haven't been updating Traitor of Camp Half-Blood but my computer doesn't like me and his decided to not let me post on it for AGES! But I will try to...**

**Anyway, this is an addition to the amazing story 'Slytherin Misadventures', by my very good friend Toni – or CookietheNinja. Please read at: s/8595420/1/Slytherin-Misadventures**

**Thanks!**

**-Silverhand9028**

**Jack's Point of View**

"Who's cat is this?"

Sheepishly, I glanced up. This huge hairy games keeper, Hagrid, was holding a tiny little ginger kitten by the scruff of the neck. His eyes were large, playful and green, and he had several tufts of fur sticking up.

"That's mine," I held up my hand, blushing scarlet. "That's Hex."

The kitten was dropped into my outstretched arms.

"Hey Hex, keep of trouble little fella," I muttered to him, as reached for my maple wood wand, which he had recently decided was excellent chewing material.

I snatched him away from my wand and started stroking him behind the ears, his favourite spot.

I looked behind me to see my friend, Antonia, also known as Toni. She was brushing back a strand of her red hair that had fallen in her eyes.

"You excited?" she asked me.

"Definitely. I can't believe I'm really going to Hogwarts..."

"Jack Edge," called out the Sorting Hat.

Nervously, I approached the Sorting Hat. Glancing behind me, I caught sight of Antonia sitting some rows back. I sat and the Hat was placed on my head.

"Hmm... a good heart, a good head... you belong in... Ravenclaw!"

I stood up and approached the table of beaming students, dressed in ties of blue and bronze.

"Welcome to Ravenclaw, Jack," a tall, dark Prefect shook my hand.

I glanced around the table. An odd-looking girl sat beside me, reading a large paperback novel. She had tangly hair, very long, a dark, dirty, blonde colour.

She glanced up at me and smiled.

"Sorry," I blushed, "just reading the book over your shoulder... it looks really good."

"You can get in the school library," she told me. "It's excellent."

There was a slightly awkward silence.

"Well, my name's Jack," I smiled.

"I'm Luna," replied the girl, "Luna Lovegood."

**Brief I know, but to get the full story please read Slytherin Misadventures!**

**-Silverhand9028**


	2. Proud to be a Ravenclaw

**Hey guys,**

**CookietheNinja and I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who read this fanfic so far :)**

**(Please note the characters Jack, Toni, Callum, Harry and Hex the cat are all ours but everyone else is JKR's)**

**R&R**

**-Silverhand9028**

As I walked into the Great Hall for breakfast, I scanned the crowd for Antonia's ginger hair and bright blue eyes. Sure enough, she gave me a wave as she sat at the Slytherin table. I rested myself down besides Luna and a boy I had befriended last night, called Callum.

I started eating a full English and as I glanced over to Toni. She looked slightly glum as she piled toast and beans onto her plate. To cheer her up, I snatched a little crumb of toast and threw it at Toni.

It caught her face and she giggled at me. I then pulled the oddest face I could muster: scrunched my face up, raised one eyebrow and blew a raspberry. Toni burst out laughing and replied by sticking out her tongue and pulling a stupid face. We both chortled happily, until someone next to Toni turned to look at me.

I knew him in an instant by his pale blonde hair and steel-grey eyes. It was Draco Malfoy - and he was scowling right at me with nothing less than hatred.

I turned back to my food.

What did that Draco kid want with me? Why did he glare at me like I was scum of the earth?  
I glumly continued to eat my egg when a screech and a hoot pierced the air.

Flying overhead was a mass of feathered owls, bearing letters. I recognised Arrow, my family's owl, soaring swiftly near the front. He swooped down with my letter. I tore open the envelope to read:

_**Dear Jack,**_

_**How is Hogwarts? I hope you have been keeping Hex out of trouble! Only yesterday I realised my pillowcase had been all chewed, and I'll bet twenty galleons it was him! **_

_**Your little sister has drawn you a picture of you at Hogwarts, that we've enclosed. She says she hopes you like it. **_

_**Congratulations on getting sorted into Ravenclaw dear – I'm sure you have a bit of Hufflepuff in you from me, though! Did I ever tell your aunt was a Ravenclaw?**_

_**Your father sends his love,**_

_**Love from Mum x**_

I smiled as I saw the scribbled, brightly-coloured drawing of a stick-man me, with a little orange Hex, wearing Ravenclaw colours outside of a big castle I guessed was Hogwarts. In the future, I need to explain to my sister that Hogwarts isn't pink and yellow, though...

I turned to Toni and pulled another silly face, but the pale-faced Malfoy only glared still at me. What was his problem?

"Hey, Hex, watch this!"

I was sat on one of the armchairs in the Ravenclaw common room. I glanced out of one of the graceful arched windows to see a view of the lush greens of the forest and the grand splendour of the Quidditch pitch. The domed ceiling above my head was painted black, with little stars beautifully depicting the splendour of the night sky. The carpet was midnight blue beneath my feet and the delicate white statue of Rowena Ravenclaw stood by the stairs leading away to the dorms, as a symbol of wit, wisdom and intelligence.

Hex purred as he watched me lift up my wand.

"_Wingardium Leviosa_!" I cried, swishing my long wand back and forth in a neat curve.

The feather on the table lifted up and levitated for a second, then drifted back down.

"Did you see that Hex? Professor Flitwick says I'm a natural at Charms, you know."  
Suddenly, I stopped.

I was sitting here, talking to my kitten about Charms class. I glanced around in case anyone was pointing and laughing at me.

On the train here, a brute of a boy called Victor Crabby or something like that, had heard me whispering to Hex, and the rest of the train journey had been nothing but teases and taunts of 'weirdo', and 'geek'.

However, nobody in the Ravenclaw common room seemed to care.

A boy on the opposite side of the table was scribbling something in his notebook and muttering under his breath. Harry, a boy in my dorm, sat discussing the rules of wizard chess with an asian girl. One student was just standing by the window, staring into space. My now good friend Luna Lovegood was reading a Quibbler article upside down!

But do you know what – I liked that.

In school at home I was always the weird kid. The eccentric geek. The learning-loving, bookish brainbox. The one who'd always rather read a book than play football.

But here, everybody was a geek, or an outcast. One girl sat trying to predict the future using eggs, and another was painting a watercolour of the Ravenclaw statue.

I was finally accepted as a geek. And being a geek was celebrated here. I wasn't the weirdest person in the world – not even the weirdest person in the room.

Ravenclaw finally felt like a place I was accepted. A place I was liked.

It felt like home.

**Thanks for reading guys,**

**please, please review!**

**-Silverhand9028**


	3. Encounters with Hex

**Hi guys! Remember to read Slytherin Misadventures, by Toni, who is probably a better author than I am! She helped me write my first ever story, so give her the credit she deserves!  
R&R,**

**-Silverhand9028**

"Transfiguration is so interesting," I gushed, as Luna and I walked down the stairs side-by-side. I had textbooks under my arm and Hex prowled at my heels.

"I know!" Luna smiled, adjusting her wand that was tucked behind her ear, "I can't believe I managed to transform those matches to needles!"  
We laughed as we came to the doors leading to outside.

"I'm going to go study," Luna said, as she went over to the other stairs leading to the Ravenclaw Tower.

"See ya," I waved, as I saw Toni standing outside. "Come on Hex," I picked up my little ginger kitten and held him in my arms as I approached Toni.

"Are you doing homework there, Toni?" I asked. Toni always used to ask me with homework help, so I decided now I might lend a hand...

I stopped.

It looked like Toni already had help. Sitting opposite her was Draco Malfoy. I dropped my transfiguration homework and glared at Draco.

"Malfoy," I spat. I felt something in me I had never felt before. It was a mix of envy – why had she chosen Malfoy to help her and not me – and a want to protect Toni from this clearly untrustworthy Slytherin.

Draco smiled: a cold, empty, monstrous smile like a python about to devour a mouse.

"You're a mudblood, aren't you," he grinned.

I recoiled after hearing that word.

My mother was a witch: a famous and powerful healer, and my dad... he may have been an ordinary muggle, but that didn't make him any less of a person. How could Draco say 'mudblood' like my father, my own loving father, had tainted my blood.

"Don't you dare call me that!" I felt the anger and hatred in my voice – why was he being so mean?

Draco stepped forward, and I felt the ginger bundle in my arms move as Hex jumped out and attached his knife-like claws into Draco's robes.

Screaming, he tried to swipe Hex away. Then, Toni reached in and snatched my cat.

He immediately calmed down in her arms, as Toni tickled him in his favourite spot that she knew only too well: behind the ears.

She leant in and whispered: "Keep your little furball under control, somebody might get hurt."  
I whirled on Toni angrily. "My furball? Somebody might get hurt? I'm sorry, but looks to me like you're on the side of some Slytherin worm, as oppose to your best friend for nine years!" I hollered.

Why would she betray me like this? A red mist descended upon me as Draco drew his wand, and I did the same, clutching it so tight my knuckles turned white.

"You filthy mudblood, and your disgusting pet, I'll get you both, you know." Draco snarled.  
"I'd like nothing more in this world," I retorted, "than to break your wand over stupid head and kick you in the-"

Suddenly, Toni swiped Draco's wand and knocked mine out of my fist. She pointed Draco's wand at him, and hers at me.

"One more move," she spat, "and I'll hex you both."  
I faltered suddenly and gasped in shock. Toni's ginger locks had turned a shade of bright red.

"What's happened to your hair..." Draco muttered.

Toni scowled at a strand of scarlet that fell down in front of her face.

"Toni..." I asked, confused, "what's happened?"  
Toni didn't say anything. She just passed me Hex, turned and bolted for the Slytherin common rooms. Draco followed her. Glumly, I took Hex and patted his head.

All the pride I had felt earlier that week, all that sense of happiness and contentment and acceptance had gone. My best friend had swapped me for the albino son of a Death Eater. It was an all time low in anyone's book.

**There you go!  
Review!**

**-Silverhand9028**


	4. (Trans)figuring It Out

**Hello guys!**

**Btw, the mention of the character Harry is NOT Harry Potter.**

**-Silverhand9028**

A week before Halloween.

"Has anyone got any matches?" called Harry.

He was bent over the fireplace, peering at the neat pyramid of wood in the hearth.

"No, who carries matches on them?" Luna asked, looking up from the textbook on the coffee table.

She and I were studying transfiguration together, reading from textbooks.

"There should be a pack on the mantelpiece above it," called Callum, from the foot of the Rowena Ravenclaw statue, where he was painting a watercolour of the room.

"Yes, but the pack is full of needles," replied Harry.

I giggled slightly and winked at Luna.

"Oh, great, it was transfiguration boy," sighed Harry, "you don't need to practise your transfiguration all the time by switching our vital objects into needles! Now change them back!"

I laughed as I got up, drew my wand, surprisingly elegantly for me, and muttered a spell. Three of the needles turned back to matches.

"I can only do three at a time," I explained, "this spell's pretty undeveloped."

"It's still really good," Luna congratulated me, "I can barely do it."

I smiled. Transfiguration really was my strong point.

Orange and black decorations lined the stairways as I walked down to Defence Against the Dark Arts, with the oddest teacher I had ever had: Professor Quirrell.

I made a poster for the Halloween play disappear, pleased with my Transfiguration skills.

"Wow, look at that, abracadabra and the poster is gone," smirked a cocky little voice.

I turned and saw the sly smile of Draco Malfoy.

"What do you want?" I murmured, as he followed me down the stairs.

"Oh, nothing. Just been chatting to my best friend - Toni."

I grabbed my wand and pointed it to Draco's throat. It was long, a pleasant shade of light brown, with a beautiful hilt.

"Oh no, what are you going to do, turn me into a ferret?" muttered Draco sarcastically.

"Your best friend?" I spat.

"Oh yes, I know so much about her," he smirked.

"Really," I retorted, "her middle name is Bethan, she is ambidextrous, her star sign is Pisces, she has a perfectly circular birth mark on the inside of her left little toe, and her favourite food is ice cream!"

I found myself shouting – but not out of rage. It was out of protection – Toni was my friend, and now this slimy kid reckoned he had taken my spot.

Draco only smirked.

"But has she told you her biggest secret?" he smirked.

"_What_?" I called, but Draco stepped onto a second staircase, just before it moved away.

"Let's just say... she has a sharp tongue," he grinned wryly, then turned and walked away.

Angry with him, I turned, flustered, and stormed down the stairs.

Well, I would've, if I hadn't have crashed into a girl coming up the stairs.

Her books went flying everywhere! I looked up and caught sight of her face.

She had dark hair, very short and very straight, with little tints of red here and there. Her skin was quite pale, with petite, delicate, pixie-like features. She had the black-and-yellow striped scarf of a Hufflepuff, and the large, anxious eyes of a rabbit."

I saw a copy of _A History of Magic_ that the girl had dropped and I reached down and handed her it.

She looked at me, terrified, like I was handing her a grenade. She grabbed the book and clutched it tight, blushed a deep shade of scarlet, then turned and hurried away.

I was about to leave, when I saw a wand lying on the stairs.

It was a little shorter than mine, made of a darker wood, and slightly bendier than mine.

She had left her wand!  
"Wait!" I ran off down the stairs to see the petite girl disappearing into a crowd.

"Hey!" I took off and caught up with her.

"You dropped your wand," I told her, holding it out to her.

The people around her turned to look at us. The girl opened her mouth to speak, then stopped, as she glanced around at the people watching. She blushed a deeper shade of red, took the wand, and quickly exited the crowd.

Bemused, I thought about the odd events of the day so far. Toni avoiding me, Draco's insults and the shy girl's actions.

It was hard figuring it all out.


	5. Happy Halloween

**Hey readers!  
A few more reviews would be nice, as I really want your feedback and opinions, but thanks for reading! Now, for a very long chapter...**

**-Silverhand9028**

It was the Sunday before Hallowe'en, which was on Thursday.

I was in the common room, writing out a letter to my family. I brought my quill to the parchment as I wrote:

_**Dear Mum and Dad,**_

_**Hogwarts has been great so far. Hex hasn't got into much trouble, although he did get lost at the station, and scratched a boy. But it's alright.**_

_**I've made some new friends, there is a girl called Luna in my classes and two boys called Harry and Callum in my dorm. Ravenclaw is great to be in!**_

_**I've just learned some charms, and found that I'm really good at Transfiguration! It's so interesting, I can turn matchsticks into needles and we're starting to learn how to make things disappear! Next week, I have my first flying lesson, I'm so excited!**_

_**Tell Georgie **_(my little sister) **_that the picture is very good. _**

_**Happy Hallowe'en, I look forward to hearing from you soon,**_

_**Jack**_

_**x**_

I brought my quill to a halt and folded the paper, then approached the owlery. After sending the letter off to home, I turned and walked back down the winding stairs.

I was about to approach the Ravenclaw Common Room, when I paused.

What did I want to do today?  
I'd probably study with Luna, but she had other businesses, so I'd usually hang with Harry, but he was rehearsing for the Hallowe'en play, a chilling production of _The Warlock's Hairy Heart_. I could play with Hex, but he was having a nap now. Callum was doing homework, and I was considering helping him out. I was about to ascend up the tight, twisting staircase up Ravenclaw Tower, when I faltered.

What about Toni?  
_That_'s what I would do – I'd probably be with Toni, laughing about something, or doing homework, or just chatting.

But Toni had been ignoring me recently. In the only class I had with her – Astronomy – she tended to ignore me and work with Draco.

I saw her in the Great Hall and went: 'Hey, Toni!' but she fled.

But I knew one of us had to face up. But Toni would be in the Slytherin dorms right now, which I couldn't get into...

couldn't I?

I approached Slytherin Dungeon, feeling anxious. I had to get through to her...

The stone walls, here in the castle's cellars, stood ahead of me. I approached the entrance, then realised I had to have a password.

What would Slytherins have as a password?  
It would probably be something full of pride and possible arrogance – there was a high chance it would be a magical term, as the Slytherins thought they were the best, and frequently reminded us of that.

What could it be?  
They would want something that showed their choice of pupils. They were all slightly arrogant and ambitious, all so-called 'pure-bloods'...

I almost squealed in celebration – pure-blood, it had to be that!

"Pure blood," I spoke.

The door swung open.

I allowed myself a witty smile, before gritting my teeth and entering the corridor...

There was a bit of chatting in the common room ahead, but it stopped as my footsteps thudded of the floor.

I entered the room to see a sight.

Draco and Toni were sat on the sofa, glaring at me.

I thought I saw something odd about Toni's eyes, but as I walked closer Draco leapt up.

"How did you get in here?" he spat.

Toni mumbled something to him, as I replied: "The password wasn't difficult to guess, since you're all _racists_."

I felt rage inside me. I had come to recreate what it was like when Toni and I first started Hogwarts, but she wasn't helping by being so dismissive.

"Go away," I heard her angry murmur from the sofa.

I was shocked. I thought she'd at least feel guilty about leaving me – but I now knew she just resented me even more...

"Did you hear that, Jack?" Draco cackled smugly, "The lady wants you to leave."  
I glared at him, before turning to glower at Toni, then turned and left.

"I'm so _stupid,_" I muttered, once I had exited the room.

'You're an idiot,' a voice in my head taunted, 'you actually thought all you head to do was a bit of breaking and entering and she'd just waltz off Draco's lap and into your arms?'

I sighed with defeat as I ascended the stairs, leaving the dark horror of the dungeon behind me...

"EVANESCO!"

I woke up very shocked on Hallowe'en, mainly because no-one was there. Or so I thought.

"Hello?" I got out of bed, when Callum's voice, scarily close to me, whispered: "Sssh! We're all here!"  
"Huh? What?" I glanced around, but couldn't see anyone. "What's happened?"  
"Everyone's invisible," I heard another familiar voice of a dorm-mate. "The older Ravenclaws have turned the whole house invisible overnight! We're gonna sneak down late to breakfast, then scare everyone as poltergeists!"

I glanced down at myself to see that I too, was invisible!  
"Awesome!" I giggled.

"Okay guys!" the voice of a prefect was heard, it was weird to think the dorm was full of people but I couldn't see a soul. "Grab your wands. When you get down there, charm all the objects you can see. Transfigurate their cutlery, make their food hover, anything you want! But remember, don't make too much noise!"

I grabbed my wand – twelve and three-quarter inches of slightly springy maple wood, with a dragon core.

"This group will be handling the Slytherin table," another prefect's voice called, "anyone have a problem."

A pang of guilt pained my stomach, but I ignored it – Toni wasn't my friend anymore, she had made that clear.

"Ready?" he asked. "Go, go, go!"

Heading down the tight, twisting stairs down Ravenclaw Tower proved trickier than anticipated.

"Single file," hissed the prefect, "don't go too quickly, there is someone in front of you!"

Mr Filch started walking _up_ the stairs, and we all had to stop and fall silent as he passed. Mrs Norris started sniffing us out, but Filch led her forward.

"That was close," Callum whispered from behind me.

Eventually, the entire house managed to shuffle down the stairs and approach the Great Hall. "Go!" a female prefect commanded, and we ran into the doors beneath the light of the floating candles.

We ran towards those breakfasting, careful not to make too much noise. As we reached the Slytherin table, I whispered "Wingardium Leviosa!"

A spoon lifted up, then dropped onto the head of a girl with long blonde hair.

I giggled as she screamed in shock.

I saw someone's glass turn into a bird and then do their business on Goyle's shoulder, as an invisible girl beside me yelled: "Avis!"  
All of a sudden, several little birds sprouted from her wand tip and descended on some more Slytherins.

By then, they had started to realise what was going on. As I changed a matchstick to a needle, a girl yelled: "Under the tables, quick!"

The Slytherins scrambled to push back their seats and dive below.

I heard someone shout: "Flippendo!" as a plate of bacon flew backwards.

I saw Draco and Toni, huddled together down below.

Draco's hideous face broke into a sick, sadistic, smug smirk. He reached out with his foot, as I heard Harry's yell.

_Smack!_

He reappeared as he hit the floor, his wand lying on the floor before him.

"You!" Draco crawled out from the table, anger and hatred writhing on his face. He snatched Harry's mahogany wand.

"Give me my wand!" snarled Harry, but Draco's eyes glimmered with cruelty as he took the wand at both ends, and... snapped it in too.

"No!" Harry roared.

Rage built inside me. How could Toni be friends with this monster? I charged forward at Draco, then brought my leg back and kicked him.

I felt bad as Draco doubled up and Toni screamed "Draco!" and ran out to comfort him, but I reminded myself that he was still a horrible, mean, racist little albino.

I went to punch him, but Toni leapt in front, waving her fists around yelling: "Who's there, I'll get you invisible idiot!"

One blow caught my arm and I fell back, becoming visible.

"_Jack?"_ the horror in Toni's voice was imminent. "Why would you do that?"

"Because he's a racist, sadistic, psychopathic freak who just attacked my friend!"  
"So you attack him?"  
I heard the voices of the teachers behind me, shouting for calm, and as the Ravenclaw pranks faded and the teachers waved their wands, shouting "Aparecium!" and made many of my house members reappear.

Toni and I, however, remained fiercely arguing.

"He's a horrible little Slytherin, Toni!" I pointed at Draco.

"He's my friend – wait, you're insulting him with the word Slytherin? Being a Slytherin doesn't make you horrible! Being sorted doesn't change who you are!"  
"Really?" I spat, "Because it seems to have done an awful lot to you!"

"What?" Toni appeared shocked. "Jack, I-"  
"When was the last time you had a decent conversation with me, Toni? When was the last time we just chatted like old times? Ever since Slytherin wonder-boy came into the picture, you've been dismissive, rude and more!"

Toni opened her mouth to speak, but I only muttered an angry, sarcastic: "Happy Hallowe'en," before turning on my heel and marching out of the room.


	6. Prank You Very Much (A Short Chapter)

**Please note, all the names mentioned:**

**Sam, Ross, Tom, Ella, Callum and Harry are all OC's. I just find it difficult to write about canon characters, it always feels like injustice to JKR's glory.**

**This is just a very short chapter, so please read the amazing Toni's, which is much better than mine, and longer!**

**-Silverhand9028**

"A toast," roared our prefect, Sam, "a toast to the great Ravenclaw Poltergeist Prank of 1991!"

It was just before lunchtime in Ravenclaw Tower, and the prefects were holding a speech.

"Cheers!" cried the Ravenclaw common room, lifting their lemonade in celebration.

"Did you see the look on that fat kid's face when I switched his nose with a rat's?" giggled an tall, brown-haired older student, Ross.

"That moment when I enchanted that boy and gave him boils!" Ross's bespectacled, spiky-haired friend Tom laughed.

"Flitwick himself said it was the most amusing breakfast he's ever watched. And the cleverest Hallowe'en costume idea he's ever witnessed!" Sam called out.

Cheers and whoops ensued.

"However," a second prefect, Ella, approached the front. "earlier also, one of our new Claws, Harry, was tripped up, attacked and had his wand broken by a little first-yearcalled Draco Malfoy."  
A few boos echoed round the room. "Jack put him in his place though, didn't ya?" Callum nudged my shoulder.

"Wooh! Go Jack," laughed someone.

"Yeah, I heard you managed to break some ribs," chuckled Sam.

"_What?_" I gasped. "I broke his ribs?"  
"Yeah, but he deserved it!" shrugged Callum.

I felt guilt. Draco may have been horrible, but he probably didn't deserve what I had done to him as much.

"We still need to prank the rest of them back," Sam was saying.

I thought he was a little unorthodox for a prefect.

"I know!" called a voice. It was Tom. "Ross and I have just learnt the bubble-head charm. We should totally swim in the lake past their windows and freak them out!"

We laughed as Sam nodded: "Okay then. If you want to, you two can do that."  
"Awesome!" grinned Ross, "I'm _so_ dressing up as a Kelpie, so I can freak them them even more..."

**Thanks for reading that!  
And if you liked that, you'll like Slytherin Misadventures, by Toni, even more!**

**s/8595420/1/Slytherin-Misadventures**

**Now press that review button down there and give me all the feedback you like! **

**-Silverhand9028**


	7. Slytherin's Revenge

**TIME FOR A HUGE BOMBSHELL...**

**well, actually, it's not a bombshell if you were reading Slytherin Misadventures and had Antonia's side of the story...**

**But anyway... here's Chapter Seven, hope y'all like it! (Dunno what **was** with the y'all there...)**

**-Silverhand9028**

Luna and I were trooping up the stairs from Charms lesson with Professor Flitwick. Although I wasn't as good at Charms as I was at Transfiguration, I had pretty decent skill, and Luna and Callum, who where also in my Charms class, were even better. It is well known that Flitwick favours Ravenclaws above all and has a deep passion for his house, so we got a lot of house points in that lesson.

I was with Luna again, examining a Quibbler article about a break-in at Gringotts, as we walked up the tower's spiral staircase.

We came to the top of the stairs, Luna folding up the magazine as I smiled, relieved to be free of lessons for the day. We approached the door, with no handle, no keyhole: just a bronze door-knocker, shaped like an eagle.

I faced it and it asked a riddle, one you must answer before you enter to prove you have the wit of a Ravenclaw:

"Throw me from a window, you will leave a lonely wife.

Put me back into the door, and I will help give life.

What am I?"

I thought for a second.

"Something to do with childbirth, maybe?" I pondered. "A baby? A wife would be unhappy if you threw her baby out of a window, and you'd be giving it's life back to her if you brought it back in threw the door..."

"But it doesn't seem right," Luna voiced my thoughts as I nodded in conformation.

"A lonely wife would be, like, a widow..." Luna added. "And-"  
"Wait!" my eyes lit up – it was a lightbulb had appeared on top of my head. "Throw me out of the window, you will leave a widow! And someone who helps give life..."  
"A donor," suggested Luna.

"Yes!" I cried. "Take it out of window, you get widow. Put it into door, you get donor. It's the letter 'n'!"  
The door swung open.

"Yes!" Luna grinned as we walked inside.

I know I've said this already, but I really do love the Ravenclaw Common Room.

It's airy and spacious, with elegance and splendour in every arch, every curve, every corner of the room. The bookshelves contain a wealth of knowledge, the view out of the tall windows is spectacular and there is no better lullaby then soft chimes of the wind around the tower at night.

So, imagine my horror at seeing the place turned into a battlefield.

The second we entered, Sam, who was standing by the door, pulled Luna and I to the side and yelled: "Get down!"

We ducked as sparks of bright green fire flew into the spot we had been moments before.

"What the hell?" I groaned.

"It was the Slytherins," explained Sam, "look what those bloody snakes have done to our common room!"

I gasped in horror as I examined the room.

Several litter trays had been emptied on the floor, the great, beautiful bookcase lay on the floor and several items such as matches had disappeared. But the worst was the statue.

The Rowena Ravenclaw statue stood as a beacon of wit, a symbol of intelligence, a reminder of all Ravenclaw House stood for.

Now, it was an awful mess. Rowena's nose had apparently grown ridiculously, and her slender hands had been replaced with vicious claws.

"_The statue_," gasped Luna in horror.

"It sends green sparks every time someone tries to enter," Sam told us.

"Green..." whispered Luna.

"It was Slytherin." I decided. "It must be. The Poltergeist Prank and the Kelpie Lake Trick must've got to them."  
As the door opened and Sam leapt in front to grab some girls entering before the sparks hit them, Luna and I walked along the common room.

I saw Hex, standing uncomfortably by his litter tray, which had been emptied.

"Poor you," I stroked just behind Hex's ears, as I tried to scoop the contents back in.

"They've ruined my book!" I heard a girl gasp, inspecting a paperback novel which had been covered in water.

"Someone help us with this bookcase!" a group of boys called out.

"What's happened to my bed?" a shout echoed from the girl's dorm.

"Those Slytherins," I heard Harry mutter, as he approached me from behind.

He was clutching his arm, which he had fallen onto and got a greenstick fracture.

"Good to see you're out of the hospital wing," I smiled.

"They gave me a fracture for a little Hallowe'en joke, and now they've ruined our dorm room?"

He was right – it wasn't fair.

"And that, Professor," I recognised the squeaky voice of Professor Flitwick, "is what your students have done to our common room!"

I turned to see Flitwick and Snape examining our room.

"They've taken our beautiful statue and graffitied it, then turned it into a weapon to attack our own students!"

Snape turned to little Flitwick, icily cool. "But how do you know it was Slytherin?"  
"Well, it stands to reason, doesn't it? My house pulls a little joke – and yours launches a full-scale attack! Litters emptied, possessions ruined, school property damaged! Plus, the fire is in Slytherin colours!" Flitwick replied.

"But this fire looks like the work of the Weasley twins – who are Gryffindors. And the claws on the statue – Gryffindor lions have claws. The green could just be a decoy. And the pranking was clearly done in lessons. My Slytherins always work hard. Anyway, how could they get in to the room?"  
"Well, maybe there was a clever Slytherin who didn't have class. In fact, Snape, I will be checking which bookish Slytherins weren't in class."  
I froze.

Toni wasn't in class, she was helping Draco recover. And she certainly was bookish.

"Antonia and Draco!" I yelled.

"What?" asked Luna.

I grabbed my wand and ran for the door.

"Where are you going?" called Harry.

"The Great Hall," I replied. "I've got a score to settle."

**DUN DUN DUUUN!**

**R&R, and read Toni's version.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**-Silverhand9028**


	8. Betrayal, Battles and Best Friends

**I would like, firstly to apologise.**

**It has come to my attention that Luna is actually in the year below, not in Harry's, which is a mistake.**

**Yeah... sorry about that.**

**But we have good news! We have Slytherin Misadventures by Toni: s/8595420/7/Slytherin-Misadventures and of course, this, Ravenclaw Misadventures. But remember that quiet girl I rushed into on the stairs? Well, as this fic develops, it turns out she may have a bigger part to play... and now, her story is here too! Remember to read Hufflepuff Misadventures, by xoExoMxo telling the story of shy girl Emma, at: s/8614907/1/Hufflepuff-Misadventures**

**-Silverhand9028**

I ran.

Down the staircase, weaving in-and-out of other people, my legs sprinting down three steps at a time.

Teachers called at me to slow down, students asking why I was in such a rush but their words went unheeded as I bolted as fast I could in the direction of the Great Hall.

By the time Toni and the other Slytherins had got down there, so had the rest of Ravenclaw.

"Jack, why are you so on edge?" Luna asked me, as she settled down beside me.

"Hey, why are looking so angry?" Callum questioned me as he slid into place on the other side.

Neither of these questions I answered: Luna fixed me with a pitiful look and pat on the shoulder, as I stared at the Slytherins filtering in the room.

"There's those Slytherins!" Sam pushed his reading glasses onto the bridge of his nose and stood, along with many other Ravenclaws.

"You disrespected the entire school when you hexed our statue!" Ella was snarling at a Slytherin prefect.

"Don't know what you're talking about," smiled the Prefect in smug reply.

"It wasn't me," chuckled his housemate.

"Nor me," grinned another.

"I know who it was," I murmured, as I noticed Antonia and Draco coming in.

I strode confidently towards them, wand in fist, robes flowing behind me like the wings of an eagle.

"It was you two, wasn't it," I announced, as Toni turned with a look of shock and resentment in her bright blue eyes.

"What makes you think that?" Draco gave me his trademark cocky grin, curling his lips up in a smug smile. It was a repulsive little snigger.

"That's a yes then," I folded my arms defiantly.

"Jack I-," Toni opened her mouth with what was probably another empty, selfish excuse.

"I don't want to hear it Toni," I snapped angrily, sick to death of the girl I once called my best friend. I thought of the ruined items, the hexed statue and hidden things. "How could you?" I asked her. How could she bear to forget her friend just for some stupid vengeance.

"You broke Draco's ribs Jack! I think that's taking a prank too far. It _deserved _pay back. It even seemed like it was _begging _for it." Toni argued.

"I didn't mean to, it was all meant to be _fun_," I sighed. "Besides, he broke Harry's wand!"  
"Oh, boo-hoo!" Draco snorted. "It's only a wand."

Draco was really pushing me to breaking point. He was so infuriating! "Unless you want more broken bones, Draco," I snarled, "I suggest you shut up!"  
"The only reason you could kick me is because I was on the floor," he replied, "what are you going to do – bite my kneecaps?" He peered down at me, mocking the height difference between us.  
I exploded.

Draco had stolen my best friend. He'd bullied me because of my heritage, he'd teased me because of my house, he'd been irritating, cocky and annoying, he'd been a constant thorn in my side: and now he was insulting my height.

And _nobody_ insults my height.

I grabbed my wand and held it so tight my knuckles turned white.

"Don't start," I heard Toni's exasperated drone, and this only fuelled more rage inside of me.

I turned and pointed my wand at her. "This is all your fault, Toni!" I shouted.

I could feel the eyes of the hall upon me.

However, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Draco grab his wand and point it at Toni too.

That rat!

He was a Slytherin after all – why was Toni so surprised that he had stabbed her in the back?

"It's time for you to choose; me or him," he smugly smirked.

Toni didn't answer. She began to change...

I recoiled in horror as her tongue grew long and thin, then becoming forked. My brain couldn't comprehend as her teeth extended into ice-white, razor-sharp fangs! Her skin turned green and scaly, her nose shrunk into two serpentine slits and her eyes gained thin black pupils with yellow irises. Lastly, her pretty ginger hair turned bottle-green.

Gasping, I stepped back in terror. What had happened to her?  
I expected to see Draco gasp too, but he merely laughed. "I was wondering when you were going to get the chance to put that into practice," he sniggered.

This was even more of a shock – Toni apparently had the ability to transform her face into that of a snake's – and she hadn't told me! Even worse, her stupid Slytherin boyfriend knew first!

I heard a voice, as I saw Tom and Ross step forward.

Her face morphed back to normal as Ross asked: "How did you do that?"

and Tom inquired: "Does it hurt?"

I glared at them. Toni had betrayed me, broken into our dorm and hexed our statue. But all because she can do a snake-face, she goes to the top of the Ravenclaw list!

As Tom and Ross, intrigued, launched into more questions, I glared at them, before turning on my heel and running out.

"A Metamorphmagus! In our school!"  
"Apparently, it's really rare!"  
"I have Charms class with her, I'm gonna ask her about it then!"  
"That's amazing!"  
"She's amazing!"  
I curled up on the sofa and cuddled Hex tighter, the next day. The Ravenclaw common room was alive with chatter, all about one particular girl.

"She did it so well! That's such a talent!"  
"Toni's so cool!"

I saw someone break out from a conversation – it was Callum.

"Hey, Jack, isn't it cool? Toni's a Metamorphmagus!"

"Yeah, cool," I muttered, staring miserably into space.

"Lucky you," Ella, a prefect, approached me, "being her friend and all. How long have you known?"  
"Since the same amount of time as you," I replied. "And I wouldn't exactly call her my friend anymore."  
"What?"  
"Don't you remember guys? Her best friend attacked Harry. She's the one who did all that stuff to our common room!"  
"Yes, but it's all back to normal now," Callum was telling me. "and she's your friend!"

"That's not the point!" I felt all eyes on me. "She's a liar, and an enemy, and she's definitely, definitely, _NOT _my friend!"  
I felt my cheeks burning, as I turned and fled to the only other sanctuary I knew that wasn't the common room or my house: the library.

"Jack!" I was curled up on an armchair, a book open.

I had lost myself in this book for a few minutes until I saw a welcome sight. Luna stood by the entrance, a smile on my face.

I tried to manage a grin to match Luna's, who's always managed to cheer me up.

"What's the matter?"  
"Toni," I grumbled, "as soon as she was sorted into Slytherin she's ignored me. She's become horrible. And now, everyone loves her."  
"You were close before, huh?"

"Yeah..." I admitted, "you have no idea..."

_Six Years Earlier_

"_Three... two... one... ready or not, here I come!"_

_I opened my eyes and stared around the garden. The knee-high stone wall stood my left, beside a lane of lush green trees. More trees were sitting over beside a little stream that led to a pond over to the far end. There was a little painted wendy-house, and a little gate to the right that was open to the fields, filled with tall, waist-high grass._

_I ran towards the stone wall, and clambered up to walk atop the surface._

"_I'm coming to get you!" I giggled, my eyes darting around._

_I thought I saw something in the wendy-house, and I hopped off the little wall and bounded towards it. I swung the door open but there was no-one there. However, I then heard a giggle above me._

_I glanced up to see a little figure in the tree._

"_Found you Toni!" I called._

_She laughed up there in the branches, before yelling: "You haven't tug me yet!" she edged along the branch she was sitting on, whilst I put my arms around the trunk and pulled myself up._

"_I'm coming to get you!" I chortled, finding a foothold and swinging myself upwards I clambered higher, reaching a Y-shaped fork._

"_Na-na-na-na-na! Can't catch me! Can't catch me!" Toni's laughter rang out as she scrambled higher._

"_Grr!" I mock growled, then raced up after her._

_I reached up, and caught her on the ankle._

"_Got you! Got you! You're it!"_

_We both exploded in peals of giggles. _

"_Okay, let's get down now," she smiled._

_We glanced down, and realised we were higher than first anticipated._

"_Oh!" she gasped. "What're we going to do? Climb down?"_

"_It looks tricky," I murmured._

"_Well, what else are we going to do?" she asked._

"_We're going to have to live up here forever!" I decided. "We have to catch birds, and sleep under the leaves, and run around the tree like squirrels and pick all the berries and acorns, see?"  
Toni giggled. "You're a squirrel," she smirked._

"_No I'm not!"  
"Are too!"  
"Am not!"  
"Are too!"  
"Are too!"  
"You're a squirrel!" I argued._

_We stayed up in that tree for two hours._

_We sat and laughed, and played truth-or-dare, and just chatted._

_Those were the days..._

"If she sees me when I say 'Hi', she doesn't show it," I told Luna. "She hates me. Must do."

Luna gave me a hug. It felt awkward at first, but then I was just happy that she was there. Suddenly, I saw Toni and Draco, with Ross and Tom, sitting in the library. My pace quickened as Luna broke away and smiled.

"Ignore them," she shrugged.

"Yeah," I smiled.

I chatted with Luna, then. She was nice, and I felt comfortable and happy.

But it wasn't right.

Because for the entire conversation with Luna, a little voice bugged me, saying: 'She's not Toni, she's not Toni. You're not friends with Toni. She hates you,' and no matter how much I tried to swat it, it was always there.

**Thanks!  
Remember to give Emma the support she needs, and read Hufflepuff Misadventures!**

**-Silverhand9028**


	9. Making Up, Breaking Up, Hating Her

**Hey guys!  
Thanks for reading, remember to tell your friends to read! :D**

**Read and review Toni and Emma's versions too!**

**-Silverhand9028**

I was outside, in the stands surrounding the Quidditch pitch. It was a remarkably chilly Sunday afternoon. Classes were over, and for the Ravenclaw house it was prime time. The Quidditch team were practising, Ross and Tom taking the stage as beaters, and Harry flying as a Chaser. More of my housemates were lounging around in the Common Room, some chatting in the corridors or in the Great Hall. Several Ravenclaws littered the library – some studying, some just reading.

I had Hex beside me, he was quite interested in my long blue and bronze striped scarf, which I had to keep tugging away before he got to it.

As I watched the Ravenclaw Quidditch team perform with excellent efficiency, I felt a movement over to my side. Turning to the right, I expected to see Luna or Callum.

But it was Toni.

"Jack," she started, her breath turning to steam in the autumn air.

"What do_ you_ want?" I murmured.

"I came to... apologise," she replied.

I slowly, warily, turned to face her.

"An apology from a _Slytherin._ How rare. I suppose I'm supposed to feel special now, am I?" I replied coldly. I didn't mean to snap, but _I_ had tried to make up with her, and she rejected _me_.

Now... "I hope she likes her own medicine," I thought, "because she's about to get a big freaking spoonful of it."

"Jack, I'm sorry. I just got caught up in the excitement of all this. Hogwarts is an amazing place."  
I began to feel bad too; bad for snapping at her and rejecting her apology, but I tried to ignore it. If I had to break in to her dorm and fight her friend just to get my message across, she should have to go through the same treatment.

"I know," was all I could come out with. I kept my eyes fixed ahead, not turning to look at Toni as I fiddled awkwardly with a strand of my blonde hair.

"Jack, I really am sorry. I'm sorry for abandoning you. I'm sorry for keeping things secret that best friend shouldn't." I shivered at the words 'best friends'. How could she refer to us as that?

"I'm sorry for not even so much as talking to you about anything." she continued.

I whipped my head around to face her, and angrily questioned what was probably another empty apology. "And you think it's all made up for just like that?" Hex walked forwards, my usually cute, cuddly kitten now with his claws out and glinting green eyes fixed on Toni. "You think I'm going to forgive you and we'll skip off happily into the sunset?" I continued."No thank you! You just go ahead and stick with your horrible Slytherin boyfriend."  
In an instant, the Toni I knew – the funny, bookish friend, the competitive little girl I knew in my youth – had been replaced with another Toni. The Slytherin one. The one who took Draco's side over mine. The one who ruined my common room.

"_Excuse me?" _she retorted, "He isn't my boyfriend, and he most _certainly_ is not horrible! You didn't even give him a chance. If you'd not bothered retaliating the first time he said anything to you, chances are, he'd have got bored of trying to be your enemy. You're feeding the fire by getting angry at him."  
"Well, the damage is done now, isn't it? So, if you don't mind, I'm here to support my _friends_."

I said it so that she knew she wasn't included in that list.

Without waiting for another answer, I picked up my stuff and turned away, Hex following at my heels. Toni tried to approach me, but I pulled my scarf up so it covered my face and marched away.

So that Toni couldn't see the tears in my eyes.

I stormed straight up to Ravenclaw Tower, to find two shy girls beside the door.

"We can't get in," explained one, "the riddle's too hard."  
"Stupid door won't let us in with it's stupid riddles!" the other muttered.

"They're not stupid," I scowled, "they're better than the other boring houses, with some easy password that all you have to do is remember it. In Ravenclaw, you have to use your brain to get in. You don't just spout some stupid word and swing it open, you learn to think differently and discover more, every time you answer."  
Leaving the girls speechless with my rage, I approached the door, which opened it's bronze beak, and I heard:

"A cloud was my mother, the wind is my father,

my son is the cool stream, my daughter the fruit of the land.

A rainbow is my bed, the earth my final resting place,

And I'm the torment of man. What am I?"

I thought for a minute. It was something created by a cloud, and it made streams and fruits... I considered the rest of the riddle, and realised it rapidly.

"Duh, it's rain!" I told them.

The door opened as Hex and I went inside, followed by the two girls.

I went up to my comfy bed and took off my scarf, hanging it on the bedpost. Then I took a letter from where I had left it. Hex leapt onto his little blanket at the foot of my bed and curled up for a nap. I then took some parchment and a quill, before heading out to the tables beside the bookcases.

I opened the letter to see what my family had sent me earlier. It told me of daily life – the weather had been particularly rainy, and my little sister Georgie had enclosed another picture of me on a broomstick.

I took the quill and wrote:

_**Mum,**_

_**I like the picture Georgie drew. Tell her my first flying lesson was lots of fun.**_

_**I'm enjoying Transfiguration above everything else, although Charms and Flying Lessons are quite fun too.**_

_**I hope you had a Happy Hallowe'en, all our house pulled off a prank by turning ourselves invisible and going late into breakfast as Poltergeists! Then we started lifting up the other house's things: it was so funny!  
Professor Flitwick is so nice: he loves Ravenclaw House, he favours us above all the others!**_

_**Write soon,**_

_**Jack xxx**_

After finishing, I put the letter to the side, making a mental note to post it later. I then took out my favourite book – an epic fantasy novel. Soon, I was losing myself in the pages, imagining myself swinging a sword as I rode into battle atop a silver stallion...

My dreams were shattered as noise suddenly filled the quiet room.

"Did it hurt?"  
"Can you teach me?"  
"Can you sign my Transfiguration essay?"

I glanced up to see none other than _Toni_ strolling in, flanked by Ross and Tom, still in their Quidditch gear.

She caught my eyes, as I sighed, picked up my stuff, and left for the dormitory.

Why was she here? Why did she think she had the right to swan into our common room?  
Frustrated I sat down on my bed and resumed reading; but I couldn't lose myself in the book this time – all I could think of was how angry I was with Toni. We had come so close to making up – and now, all because of me, we were angrier with each other than ever.

**Hope you liked this chapter!  
Remember to read Hufflepuff and Slytherin Misadventures too! You're not getting the full story unless you do!**

**-Silverhand9028**


	10. A Flying Accident

**Heellooooooooooo!**

**I hope you're all enjoying this story, but, I have to say that for my tenth chapter, I have a very low number of reviews :(**

**I just want to know what you guys think – how can I improve, what ideas do you have for the plot, who do you like – whatever you want to put. **

**So at the end of this chapter, all I'm asking for is a bit of constructive criticism to help me.**

**Thank yoouu! :D**

**-Silverhand9028**

"Today, class," called Madam Hooch, "we shall practise control and agility on our brooms. I have set up a course, and you must complete it not too fast, nor too slow. If anyone finishes in less than two minutes or more than four, you have little broom control, and must retake."  
It was a blustery Thursday afternoon three weeks after Hallowe'en. Me and a class of twenty-one others were standing, brooms at the ready, for a Broom Flight Class, with Madam Hooch.

I was alright on a broom – I certainly enjoyed it, but I was uncomfortable at flying too high, and a little slow occasionally.

"This looks easy," remarked Harry, who was beside me.

"Easy for you to say," I replied, "you're our Keeper in the Ravenclaw Quidditch team!"  
"Now," Madam Hooch, strode forwards, "who wants to go first?"  
Harry's hand shot up.

"Very well, Mr Velox." Hooch turned to the rest of the class, "Harry Velox here is Ravenclaw house's Keeper."  
"Wooh!" cheered a housemate.

"Go Harry!" I added, pumping my fists.

Harry grinned, a little cockily, before calling: "Up!"

The broom obediently lifted and he got on. The agility course was some simple slaloms, before a U-turn, a tight ride through some hoops, then a huge lift and a big dip. Although Harry manoeuvred excellently in an impressive time of 2.53, I was quite nervous – especially with the rise at the end. I _hated_ going too high...

"Jack Edge," Hooch called.

Around two-thirds of the class had already been, and it was now my go.

Nervously, I commanded: "Up!"

My broom did as it was told, and I clambered on, feeling slightly clumsy.

I flew up and passed between a set of flags that we had to fly between, before swerving to the right and going through another pair.

For about thirty seconds I passed – perhaps a little slowly – through some more flags.

"Not bad," I heard Hooch call, "now the U-turn."  
I went about two metres then turned to the right, and flew back round in a slightly slow U-turn.

"Speed up Jack," warned Hooch, "that's just over a minute gone already!"

I quickened my speed and came to some hoops. You needed control for this, and I had a fair amount.

I went straight forward, successfully passing the first hoop. Then I came to the second, and almost bumped the side, but still progressed forwards and came out. My broom started to shake a little, as I went to the left for the next hoop.

Three more I passed successfully, then one I accidentally swerved and missed it.

"Come on Jack!" Harry called.

I came back for the next hoop, and Hooch yelled: "That's two minutes Jack!"

I gulped – I had to quicken my pace!

I sped forwards and got through the other hoop, despite clipping it slightly with my foot.

I came through one more, until I realised what was next.

"Now fly up high, Jack!"

I bit my lip in anxiety, but obeyed and flew up slowly. I knew I had to speed up, but I was pretty nervous!

"Go! Higher!" a ginger-haired housemate who's name had escaped me yelled.

I went up... and made the mistake of looking down.

My stomach started doing somersaults. I was high... so high.

"Bit higher!" a call was heard.

A little bit of phlegm was puked into my mouth. I swallowed it, scared, then increased in height... terrified.

Oh my god... I was _high. _Really high!  
"Okay, go across about five metres Jack. You have 1 minute left!" Hooch yelled.

I went, slowly. But the broom sensed my anxiety, and my nerves made my hands shake. My shaking hands made my broom shake... and a shaky broom was not easy to ride.

"Forwards!" I muttered. A little forcefully... for the shaking broom sped forwards!

"Ah!" my hands lost their grip. I was thrown forwards, as the broom wobbled, spun and tipped to the side.

I hated being upside down, and screamed out loud.

I heard Hooch, going to get her broom to check if I was alright. Too late. I tried to regain my position, but it spun round again, and my grip loosened... and the broom slipped from my legs. I screamed, as I fell away from the broomstick. The ground raced towards me, as I tumbled off the broom, and down... down... down...

"Jack! No"  
"Madam Hooch, he's falling!"

"Someone catch him!"  
"AAAAAAHHHH!"  
The ground came closer, I felt phlegm splutter up in my throat, as I screamed desperately, until...

Silence.

Darkness.

The hospital wing was a blur as I slowly, groggily, opened my eyes.

"Wakey-wakey!" laughed an airy little giggle from beside me.

I looked over to see the trademark smile of Luna Lovegood.

Hex was sitting by her, and as I smiled: "Hey Lu," he leapt onto my bed.

"Hold there," Luna told me, "I've got to go and tell Pomfrey you're awake," she stood and scurried off.

I leant across the bed and gave Hex a friendly tickle behind his ear. His ginger fur was tuftier than usual, which I wasn't sure was possible. His green eyes glinted with happiness as he let out a friendly purr.

Glancing round the room, I took note of others looking ill. A boy with a face full of purple boils was having ointment rubbed on him. A girl with an arm in a cast was chatting to her friend. I saw a small table beside me. Beside a vase of amber-coloured marigolds and a bottle of Skele-Gro, someone – probably Luna – had brought my favourite novel, and a little letter saying: 'Dear Jack'.

I leant over and read:

_**Jack,**_

_**I hope you're alright after your nasty fall. Georgie's drawn you another picture – she always wants to send you drawings, so I'd expect a lot more before the year is out!  
I hope you're alright, Madam Pomfrey was working in the hospital wing back when I was at Hogwarts, so I'm sure you'll be all better in no time at all.**_

_**Get well soon,**_

_**Mum and Dad xxx**_

I did something halfway between a sigh and a smile as I saw another crayon picture of me in a hospital bed, with 'GET WELL SOON JACK' scribbled above in pink felt-tip pen.

"How's our little broom-tumbler?" smiled the soothing voice of Madam Pomfrey, as she and Luna returned.

"Feeling a bit better," I smiled.

"Now, your leg is still broken – your ankle was twisted but we healed that when you were unconscious. Now, we have some Skele-Gro, but I should warn you; it's not pleasant."  
"I've eaten my aunt's beetroot and celery pie," I replied, "nothing can taste worse than that,"  
Madam Pomfrey only smiled sympathetically – her face seemed to say: 'You have no idea'. Then she took the bottle and poured a spoonful, however, before she did, she asked me: "What is your favourite food?"  
I thought for a second. "My mum's sticky toffee pudding."  
"Then think of that and hope it takes your mind off this."

She poured the spoonful into my mouth and if it wasn't for the thought of my mother's hot, sticky pudding, filled with fudge and oozing with chocolate, I would've puked everywhere. It was even worse than beetroot and celery pie. Bitter sourness, a rubbery texture, and a ghastly taste beyond description entered my mouth. My broken leg began to burn as much as my throat as the grotesque liquid slipped down it.

"That," I spat, "is the worst thing I have ever tasted."  
"Told you so," replied Pomfrey.

Luna said she had important business then, and she hurried away to the library to study.

Thirty minutes later, after classes had ended, Harry and Callum came in.

"There he is!" Callum pointed at me as they ran down the ward. "You alright Jack?"

"My leg hurts like hell," I replied.

"I've had worse Quidditch injuries," Harry said. "This one time, I was playing Keeper and this Bludger came flying towards me and hit me in the-"  
Callum elbowed him and said: "Harry, shut up."  
Harry grinned: "Seriously though, I'm glad you're OK."  
"Me too," I laughed.

Hex loudly purred and Harry screamed in shock as he realised the cat was trying to chew his robes.

Callum burst out laughing and tried to detach my mischievous little kitten.

He yanked Hex off, who then decided Callum's scarf looked fun to play with, and started trying to swipe it.

"Hex!" I laughed, leaning forwards to tug him away, then wincing as a bolt of pain seared up my leg.

"Are you alright?" asked Callum, noticing my pained expression.

"Yeah I'm alright," I lied. But I brightened up as I exclaimed: "Hey, Luna's back!"

I waved at my friend, but my hand paused in the air and my smile faltered.  
Following Luna through the hospital wing doors, I saw an all-too-familiar face.

Toni.

Luna walked confidently up to me, running a hand through her light blonde halo of frizz. Toni followed behind, nervously glancing as Hex tried to nibble my nose.

"Hey Jack," Luna smiled.

"Hi, Luna," I replied, peeping nervously at Toni from behind Luna.

However, before I could say anything, Harry stood and faced Toni.

"Oh, I wondered if you'd show up," he snarled. I remembered Toni being beside Draco when he tripped up Harry and broke his wand on Hallowe'en.

"Of course I'd show up," she replied.

I suddenly felt bad again about not accepting Toni's apology. Did she really want to be my friend again?

"You okay?" she asked.

"Yes, wonderful. You know, other than the _broken leg_," I replied sarcastically.

"Sorry, I was only asking," she replied. "If you want me to leave..."

She trudged away, looking regretful.

"Wait..." I sighed. My guilt was a knife, twisting every time Toni looked at me. We could have been reunited as friends again, but I had to be an ungrateful, vengeful idiot and refuse her.

Toni shrugged and grinned, "Your choice, little man."  
Luna glared at her, as if to say 'Don't say that!'. I had told her before I hated it when my tiny height was mocked.

"It's fine Lu," I assured her, "it's just my nickname for her."  
"So let me guess what happened," Toni looked a little awkward, standing at the foot of my bed. "Agility test... height... looked down... fell?"  
"Got it in one," I confirmed, then realised Toni was lacking a blonde little shadow. "Where's Mal- Draco, anyway?" I corrected myself, as Toni had instructed me to only call her friend by his first name. "He's usually glued to your side."

"I managed to escape for a while; he was playing exploding snap with Crabbe and Pansy last I saw."  
I realised that without Draco, the Toni from my childhood was the same one I had knew in my youth. We talked for a good thirty minutes at least – joking about Callum's snake phobia (Toni did her Metamorphmagus Snake-face to scare him) and chatting about lessons.

However, Pomfrey soon approached and decided it was time I got some rest. She was right, my leg was still aching.

"He'll be all right tomorrow, but I want to keep him in for at least half the day to check."

"He'll be fine with that, as long as he doesn't miss Transfiguration," giggled Luna.

I laughed, as Callum yelled: "Bye Jack!", and Harry grinned: "See you tomorrow!"

"Bye Jack," Luna smiled, as Toni gave me a little wave.

I watched her ginger hair swishing behind her as she left. Three weeks ago, we'd had a heated argument. Now... our friendship finally seemed to be coming back together. I smiled to myself as I picked up my novel and settled my head against the warm fluffy pillow.

**Thanks for reading, people!**

**Remember to review Ravenclaw, Slytherin and Hufflepuff misadventures!**

**-Silverhand9028**


	11. What's 'Bean' and Gone

**Hi guys!  
Remember to read, review and recommend!**

**(As a side note any Yanks reading this, 'sweets' are what you call 'candy').**

**-Silverhand9028**

Luna was sitting by my bed, chatting.

She'd asked Flitwick for a Charms class off – she was an excellent student, and a Ravenclaw, so of course he obliged to let her skip a catch-up lesson.

"So Harry comes whizzing up on his broomstick and catches the Quaffle between his ankles!" I burst out laughing as Luna filled me in on the details of yesterday night's Quidditch game, the first official match for Ravenclaw, in which we had beaten Hufflepuff! "Harry didn't even notice it at first," she giggled, "you should've seen the look on that Hufflepuff Chaser's face!"  
Suddenly, I heard footsteps.

I glanced up to see Toni approaching. I was unsure what to think – she'd tried to make up with me yesterday, but I knew that recently she had been being fickle. Was she coming to dash our newly-forming friendship that I hoped was coming together?

Luckily, my thoughts were dashed as she produced a bag, and emptied it on my bed. I exclaimed with joy as I saw all my favourite sweets lying around!

There were mouth-watering Fudge Flies, gorgeous-looking Sugar Quills, tasty Chocolate Frogs, and some delicious Treacle Fudge. Toni then reached into her robes and produced two boxes of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans and a little piece of paper on top.

I looked at it and smiled to myself as I saw a little moving photograph of us as children. We were in a muddy puddle, giggling and waving. Toni's father had snapped the photo after we had fallen over after playing hide-and-seek, our favourite game.

I smiled at the picture. I had a brown splodge on my nose and Toni's hair – it was much shorter then – was dripping wet. Despite that, we were smiling exuberantly, our arms round each other's shoulders.

"I just wanted to make up for being such a Slytherin, as you'd say," she nudged my shoulder and giggled.

I laughed, before seeing Luna who was glancing at the sweets: "You can have some if you like," I told her, making her jump out of her skin.

Hex jumped up from where he had been nibbling one of the marigolds from the vase by the bed, and onto Toni's lap. She fell to tickling him behind the ears.

I smiled at the sweets, before looking at the picture, and replied with an earnest: "Thank you."  
Toni was... really making up with me?

"You're very welcome," Toni replied, opening the box of Every Flavoured Beans and popping one in her mouth.

I smirked, as I wondered what flavour she would have...

"Eugh, soap!" she spluttered in horror.

Luna and I guffawed with laughter as Toni reached over and passed me the box: "Your turn," she gave me an evil grin.

I took one – it was smooth and silvery-blue. I popped it in my mouth and tasted a salty wetness, only found in... "Fish!" I spat, spitting out the chewed-up bean. Sardine really was up there with beetroot and mushroom pie as one of my least favourite foods.

We shared the sweets around to see what we got.

I managed to get a delicious bacon-flavoured one, but also got onion and a strong kind of cheese. Toni ate a blueberry, a toffee and a spicy curry one that burned her tongue. Luna managed to get mint, mustard, toast and a black-grey bean that she claimed was pepper.

After feasting on some chocolate frogs and collecting the cards – we got Helga Hufflepuff and Beatrix Bloxam – Toni told us she had to go to Potions.

As she left, Luna turned me to and said: "You know Jack, she's not that bad."  
"She's not now," I explained, "but before she was."

Luna thought for a second – I could practically see the cogs turning in her head as she tried to work out why.

"I think I know," she said, "the first time you argued was all because of one person. Someone who wasn't here with her when she was being nice."  
I gasped in realisation; of course, Toni had only argued with me when I'd argued with her little blonde sidekick.

"Draco," I scowled.

**That was a bit of a short chapter I know... sorry!**

**Reviews are greatly appreciated! Remember to read Toni's and Emma's story!**

**-Silverhand9028**


	12. Winter Goodbyes

**Thanks for reading! Reviews appreciated!**

**This chapter is dedicated to toe walker, one of the ONLY people to have reviewed this story and the only person to review pretty much every chapter. Toe, this is for you! :D**

**-Silverhand9028**

The rest of the year passed surprisingly quickly.

As November passed, Toni and I finally began to feel comfortable around each other. I used my skills at Transfiguration to help her develop her Metamorphmagus powers. Toni helped me brew potions and taught Hex tricks.

But Draco was always there. I told myself not to hate him, not to resent him. Toni could have two friends, couldn't she? I was friends with Luna, Harry and Callum as well as Toni, wasn't I?  
But I had an inkling that she'd choose Draco over me. Something told me Draco still believed that as a half-blood, I had no right to education at Hogwarts – and a voice of doubt kept nagging me that maybe Draco had been whispering Toni, passing his racist conspiracies onto her. Every time I saw her, she greeted me with a smile, but I couldn't help wondering if she hid malice behind her grin.

Before long, the leaves of the trees in the Forbidden Forest fell to the floor, frosts settled on the grass, and winter took grasp of Hogwarts. It was December, and the day before the Christmas holidays started. I was sat a table in the library, my History of Magic textbook open on page 17, my quill darting across a roll of parchment.

"_The final restriction given to werewolves was that they must keep a track of full moons and, on these nights, must lock themselves up as far away as possible from all human beings. This rule was arguably the most accepted by the werewolf community, although one conspirator, known as Romul Samuel Khonsu claimed, in 1640, that this was unfair as he enjoyed the taste of humans. He was reportedly executed for murder three days later."_

I brought my quill from the paper and examined my now complete 'History of Magic' essay on the 1637 Werewolf Code of Conduct. It was three and a half pages long, in my neatest handwriting, containing an in-depth analysis of prejudice against lycanthropes and links to the other laws of the Ministry at this time.

"I better get an Outstanding in this," I remarked to Toni, who was sat beside me reading.

"You're so meticulous with these things," she remarked, "I can't believe you've written, like, four pages on a list of laws."  
I shrugged. "I aim to please," I smirked. "Even if History of Magic is the most boring lesson ever."

I smiled at Toni – it felt good to have a chat like old times.

"Looking forward to Christmas?" I asked.

"Not as much as you, I'm staying at Hogwarts," she replied, "Mum's got that trip to Dublin for that meeting with the Irish Ministry, and Dad's working overtime, so I have to stay here."  
"That sucks," I replied, "are you gonna be bored?"  
"No, Draco will be here," she turned a page in her book.

"Oh," was all I could say. I didn't feel comfortable leaving her in the grasp of him.

Toni closed the book and turned to face me. "Jack, what's your problem with Draco?"  
"Well, let's see," I replied sarcastically, "he's arrogant, racist, irritating and you seem to trust _him_ over _me._"

"You're friends with Luna!" Toni crossly replied.

"But whenever you and Luna meet, you chat and giggle and share sweets. Whenever Draco and I meet, he tries to kill me."  
"Jack, that is a total exaggeration!"

I sighed.

"Look, let's not discuss Slytherin wonder-boy. School breaks up for Christmas tomorrow, and I wanna spend today well."  
Toni shrugged and smiled. "Alright. No Draco mentioning in your presence."  
I grinned and looked up at her. But I saw, behind her sparkly blue eyes, a sense of sadness, like there was a whole part of a life she could no longer include her friend in.

The next day...

I hugged Toni tight, her ginger hair blowing in her face.

We were just outside Hogwarts, on the day I left for home. I was dressed out of school uniform, in black jeans and a blue hoodie over a grey polo shirt. A suitcase of luggage was at my feet, Hex perched contently on top, engaged in a fierce duel with the suitcase name tag.

"Merry Christmas Toni," I smiled, breaking away.

"Merry Christmas yourself," she grinned a reply, "say 'hi' to your mum for me, and little Georgie. I bet she's grown now!"  
I noticed how she didn't mention my muggle dad, but I decided not to mention it. It was Christmas, after all.

"And before I go, I've got a present for you," I smiled. I reached down and took out a red, leather-bound book. I flicked through it to show her newspaper clippings, tickets and scraps all taped to the pages.

"I made you a scrapbook of our first year at Hogwarts," I smiled. "See, this are the tickets from the Hogwarts express, and this is Tom's wizard chess piece that Hex chewed."  
Toni laughed at the memory.

"Then a newspaper clipping about your dad, the feather you levitated in Charms class, the chocolate frog wrapper that helped bring us together as friends," I joked.

Toni laughed, as I saw her run her fingers over a photo of as children. "It's great," she smiled, "it's so creative! Better than what I just brought you!"

She produced a large, neatly-wrapped present. I opened it and saw a potions kit. There was a new cauldron, some pretty phials, a few ingredients and a book on how to make all the best potions. I flicked through it and saw that Toni had annotated it especially for me, with hints and tips on how to make the best-quality potions.

"So you can impress your mum," she nudged me.

My mum was a healer, excellent at potions and always cooking up special liquors, elixirs and lotions. I, on the other hand, was a little bit hopeless. In my first lesson I burnt all the inside of my phial trying to concoct a Cure For Boils and my cauldron had developed a large chewed hole after I had left it unguarded in the presence of Hex.

"That's great!" I grinned, "Thanks so much!"

"Come on, Jack!" yelled a voice. I glanced over. Harry and Callum were walking past me, carrying luggage.

"I've got to go," I told Toni, "the train to King's Cross leaves soon."  
"See you next year," Toni grinned.

I gave her one final wave, then turned and followed my friends away to Hogsmeade Station.

**Thanks for reading and reviewing! Remember to read Toni's and Emma's versions.**

**-Silverhand9028**


	13. Home

"Come on Jack," Callum beckoned, scratching his short black hair as we scrambled through the corridors of the Hogwarts Express, looking for somewhere to sit.

"Let's go here," Harry suggested.

I followed my two friends as they slid open a door and entered the compartment. I hauled in my suitcase as Hex bounded in behind me. I sat beside the window only to glance over and see a girl sitting beside me. I barely noticed her at first – Harry and Callum seemed to have no idea she was there. She just sat there, stroking a little Siamese Cat with sparkling blue eyes, staring shyly into space.

That was when I recognised her.

Her hair was short and straight, jet-black with tints of subtle red. She was pale and had porcelain-like features, reminding me in her impish features of a fairy or pixie. She was the small Hufflepuff girl I had crashed into on the stairs, the one who'd lost her wand. As Harry started telling us about how exited he was to seeing his little brother again, Hex decided to attack the little Siamese cat on the Hufflepuff girl's lap.

The ginger kitten leapt and tackled the other cat, meowing with delight as he found a friend to frolic with.

"Sapphire!" the girl grabbed her blue-eyed cat as I laughed: "Hex!", then swooped in and grabbed the cat.

As the train began to pull away from Hogsmeade Station, I turned to the girl and said, "Sorry about that. Hex loves to play... slightly violently at times."  
The girl laughed, letting a strand of her dark hair tumble into her face. "It's alright," she shyly replied.

A slightly awkward silence ensued.

"I'm Jack," I nervously offered my hand.

"..." the girl looked at me shyly, her pale cheeks turning bright blush red. "... Emma..." she replied, nervously shaking.

I saw Hex and her Siamese cat purring to each other.

"That's Sapphire," she told me.

"This is Hex," I patted my kitten on his tufty head.

I heard Harry giggling loudly as a chocolate frog climbed on his face, Callum trying to snatch it.

"This is Harry and Callum," I introduced my smirking friends. "Guys, this is Emma."  
Callum and Harry seemed to notice Emma for the first time. "Hey there," Harry smiled. Callum grinned a "Hello."

Emma's entire face went crimson. Why was she so shy?

We were just past half way of the journey, as the Hogwarts Express chugged past rambling hills and dense forests.

"I'll swap you!" Harry cried.

"But I only have two and I told Emily I'd give her Salazar Slytherin for Morgana." Callum argued.

Some serious card-swapping was going on in our compartment.  
"I already have, like, five Morganas! I'll give you one for Slytherin." I butted in.

"But I want Helga Hufflepuff and Salzar Slytherin to go with my Rowena Ravenclaw and Godric Gryffindor!" Harry protested.  
"I don't have any of them," I replied.

"I'm swapping mine with Emily," Callum told Harry.

"Does no-one have one?" cried Harry.

"I have both," a voice suddenly whispered.

We glanced over to see Emma, who hand't spoken much in the journey so far, holding up Slytherin and Hufflepuff cards.

"Merlin's beard! I'll swap you for anything you like!" Harry yelled.  
"Do you have... Beatrix Bloxam?"  
"No..."

"...Cliodna?"

"Well, no..."

"Hengist of Woodcroft?"  
"I was going to get that one..."

Emma folded her arms and smiled. "No deal, then. They're the only ones I need."

"What?" I gasped.

"You have every other one?" Callum cried.  
Emma smiled and held up a huge hand of cards.

"That's amazing!" Harry inspected her hand. "How do you get so much?"  
"I swap them," she shrugged, her shyness suddenly returning to pile up atop her shoulders. "I... have a lot of... spare time..."

As she slowly put her cards back away, I caught her dark eyes. The way she had been sitting there when we walked in... I realised with a gasp that on the train to Hogwarts, she'd been on the same carriage as Toni and I... but we hadn't noticed her. No-one had noticed her. She didn't seem to have any friends. And here I was, with Luna and Harry and Callum, with a house who respected me and friends who enjoyed my company.

My biggest worry was staying friends with just another person. And here was Emma, with nothing but a cat.

"Emma," I turned to the shy Hufflepuff, "what's your address?"  
"Why?" she asked me.

"To owl you," I replied, "keep in touch."  
Emma smiled.

The train soon rolled into King's Cross.

Looking out upon Platform 9¾, I grinned as I saw three very welcome people. There was my mum, her blonde hair cut into a bob, with dad, running a hand through his short brown hair as he glanced around uneasily at the magical community. At their feet, a little girl of four years old was grinning excitedly, jumping up and down on the spot, pigtails bouncing with her. My little sister Georgie.

I saw Harry and Callum pointing and waving, but Emma sat, staring at her feet.

"No-one here for you?" I asked.

"I doubt it," she replied. "My parents are always 'too busy' to do anything. They'll probably arrive about two hours after everyone's gone."  
As the train ground to a halt and people began to depart, I gave Emma a hug.

"See you soon," I smiled at my new friend, "Merry Christmas."

Hex and I hurried off the train and ran over to my family.

"There he is!" Georgie gave me a cute dimpled smile as she darted over to me.

"Hello Georgie," I smiled.

"Did you like my pictures?" She smiled as my mum, Joanna, and dad, Andrew, approached.

"Yes, they were great."

"Jack!" Mum wrapped her arms around me. I breathed in her smell, the scent I recognised from my childhood: the herbs and ingredients she used to heal with, the aroma of potions and burning, the fragrance that'd always drift up into my room whenever Mum was making potions.

My dad followed suit, clapping my on the shoulder, and hugging my arm.

"Right then," Dad said, "off to the car!"

We left King's Cross and came across our black people-carrier in the car park. After a relatively short fly, we soon came across home.

Home for me was Healer's Briar – called that because of the abundant briar and rose plants here, in the English countryside, and also because of my mother's family trade, which had been healing since the 17th Century. Mum, unlike most healers, did not work at St Mungo's. Instead, she took in people from around the local area. She sold potions, visited the sick, and occasionally was sent to sports games and the like, in case there were magical injuries.

I smiled as I saw Healer's Briar on the horizon. Ivy grew up the walls of the tall house, as briar bushes grew everywhere. I saw the conservatory, where mum grew all her healing ingredients and practised in Herbology, and the back part of the house, called Joanna's Healing Emporium, where Mum sold her wares.

The top part of the house was my attic room. There was my little balcony and the family owl Arrow's perch. We flew lower towards the drive, and I caught a glimpse of the garden, where Toni and I used to play as children. There was the short stone wall beside the trees, and the stream leading to the pond beside the wendy-house. I saw the gate leading to the meadows and the tree that I'd spend hours playing in. It was home.

We touched down on the drive and, after getting my stuff, walked inside. The hall was long, with two doors leading off on the left, three on the right, and the stairs at the end. One left door led to the living room, the other to the conservatory, where a trap-door provided access to the 'potion's lab', the cellar full of potion-making equipment where Mum created her elixirs. The first right door led to the kitchen, the second to the dining room and the third to the area where mum sold her potions.

I walked up the stairs, past my parent's room, past Georgie's room, past the spare room, until I came to a hatch with a ladder. I clambered up, opened the trapdoor hatch and entered my cluttered, messy, welcoming room. I dropped my suitcase and lay down on my bed. It was good to be back.


	14. Chemistry and Christmas

**Hello!**

**I've just returned from an amazing day at the Making of Harry Potter studio tour in London! All of you should go, it's so much fun, it was awesome!**

**-Silverhand9028**

I groggily opened my eyes, to be greeted by a beautiful smell. I was at Healer's Briar, in my comfy, cozy attic room.

Hex was in the corner, Arrow on the roof, and a delicious smell drifting in through the slightly open doorway.

_Bacon..._ superbly fried rashers, drizzled with ketchup.

My dad's specialty was bacon. My mum could make potions and elixirs for anything, capable of whipping up most magical meals and a sworn follower of magical recipe book "Charm your own Cheese'.

But I agreed with my dad that his bacon sandwiches on a lazy weekend afternoon, where to die for.

I quickly got dressed and dashed downstairs to see dad drizzling ketchup over a bacon sandwich beside the grill.

"Just what I need to wake me up," I smiled.

I took the bacon sandwich and sat beside Georgie, whose face was smeared with sauce as she vigorously chomped her sandwich.

"Slow down or you'll choke," laughed mum, who was sitting there, absent-mindedly levitating a fork, before turning it into bird.

"Wowee!" Georgie giggled.

"I can do stuff too," I whispered to my sister. "Watch this..." I slid my wand from my pocket and whispered a spell, turning the match dad was using at the hearth into a needle.

Dad crossly sighed, before turning to my mum and scolding her: "Joanna! I know you like your Transfiguration, but could you please just not-" Georgie giggled as Dad stopped and turned to us. "Jack? Was that you?"

Mum folded her arms as she saw my wand in my hand. Georgie put her hands over her mouth to stop herself from laughing too hard and sending bacon out of her mouth and around the room. She may have been cute, but she certainly enjoyed a laugh at my expense. I expected to hear Mum telling me off for use of magic at home, but she just winked at me and said: "You're good, Jack."

Transfiguration, Potions and Herbology were just some of mum's skills – she got 'Outstanding' in all of them at N.E.W.T. level. She also excelled at Charms and Defence Against the Dark Arts, achieving 'Exceeding Expectations' in both.

"So, you're good at Transfiguration, we hear?" Dad said, "what about other subjects?"

"Charms," I smiled, using 'Wingardium Leviosa' on a teacup.

"Potions?" asked Mum.

I paled slightly. Potions was – with the obvious exception of 'History of Magic' – my least favourite subject. I often burned myself or overdosed on ingredients. Now, could I prove myself to be 'good' in front of my potions-loving mother?

"I'm... good..." I lied.

"Can you make us something?" Georgie squealed.

"Yeah Jack," smiled Mum.

"Erm..." I murmured.

Suddenly, the bell round the back rang. Joanna's Healing Emporium had a customer. Mum quickly turned and exited the room. I ate my delicious bacon sandwich: it was warm, the bacon crispy and juicy, oozing with ketchup. However, my nerves were still unsettled as I thought about how, later in the day, I'd almost certainly be asked to make a potion in front of my whole family. Yikes!

Sure enough, the afternoon came around and Mum came to me.

"Jack, a woman just visited the shop. Apparently, her husband's developed boils on his face, and she never learnt potions, so she needs a remedy. I understand Cure for Boils is on the first-year curriculum?"

"Yes..."

"Well, could you come down to the lab and make me some

Sure..." I muttered uneasily.

I followed my mum out to the conservatory, where a huge amount of plants, from nettles to asphodel, from wormwood to aconite, stood. She opened the trapdoor and descended down a ladder, to the cellar. The darkness in here was kept at bay with enchanted braziers. Around, long tables were filled with smoking, bubbling, cauldrons, filled phials and tubes, and cabinets containing ingredients. Mum walked up a table. "This," she pointed to some thick, light green liquid in a bowl, "is a Girding Potion."

She approached a cauldron that was being mixed on it's own with an enchanted spoon, "This is a Hiccoughing Solution for a gentleman in the next village."

"What's this?" I turned to a phial of brown, gooey liquid.

"Oh, that?" Mum smirked, "that's just some gravy for dinner tonight."

She turned to face me, as I clutched the Potions book Toni had given me.

"Now," she said, "about this Boils Cure."

"Yes..." I opened the book to read Toni's notes.

I then took some snake fangs and placed them in the mortar. Taking the pestle, I read Toni's writing: 'Crush it like this:' a diagram followed, above the words: 'it should then look like grey flour'.

I followed the picture, twisting my wrist slightly, as I pressed down on the fangs. Soon enough, it made a powder resembling flour.

'Add about 4 spoons to the cauldron– I always do 4½ to be sure.'

I followed the instructions carefully. Next, I had to heat it correctly. This was always my weak point: too low, nothing happened. Too high, my cauldron got burned.

Cautiously, I heated it up to 250, leaving it at that heat for three seconds... five seconds…

Oh god... how long was it? I couldn't reach the book to check what I had to do, so it was down to memory. Ten seconds seemed right, so I took it off then.

Yes, it was right!

I waved my wand in the way Toni told me to, knowing I had to return to it 45 minutes later after it cooled...

70 minutes later, I was standing there with a crystal phial full of a Cure for Boils. I hoped it was sufficient, but I had never actually made a successful potion.

Mum looked at the phial, pouring a bit of the liquid into a spoon. She sniffed it... examined it... then looked at me. I'm not sure what I expected her to say.

"I thought you said you were really good at Potions?"

"Uh..." I felt my cheeks burning as Mum stared intently at the phial.

"It's lumpy. You didn't grind it properly. And there are too many porcupine quills." Mum sat beside me. "What happened?"

"Mum... I... I hate potions." I expected Mum to gasp in horror or disown me, but she didn't do anything. "It's hard," I continued, "Toni's great at it, but I... I've never made a potion properly. So I asked for her to tell me how to this. But... I've failed. I'm such a fail."

Mum did the one thing I didn't expect. She laughed.

"Jack. You're great at Transfiguration and Charms. You seem to know lots about Herbology and History of Magic too. You've got friends and you enjoy school. You are a lot of things, but you're not a fail. Now... come on and show me some Transfiguration skills." I smiled. "Yeah."

Several days later, I was woken up by the screams of a girl.

"JAAACK! JACK! WAKE UP!"

"Huh?" I sat up and looked around, to see Georgie jumping up and down on my bed, giggling and shrieking with delight.

"JAAACK! IT'S CHRISTMAS!"

Laughing, I stood, swooped down on Georgie and picked her up, tickling her.

She squealed happily as I took her downstairs. "Presents! Presents!" Georgie was begging to Mum and Dad. They went to get us what everybody had left us, and came back upstairs holding full stockings.

"Yay!" Georgie leapt out of my arms and opened a huge present, wrapped in pink and purple.

I laughed as I unwrapped two books: 'The Advanced Guide to Transfiguration' and 'Purrfect Enchantments: Fun spells and charms to use on your cat', from Mum.

Giggling, I beckoned Hex down and managed to turn his fur blue for a few seconds. I made a mental note to show my friends back at Hogwarts.

Georgie presented me with a neatly coloured card, of me in the garden with a snowman, a reindeer and Hex wearing a scarf.

Dad gave me an odd-looking piece of Muggle technology called a 'football'.

"It's a game Muggles play," he told me, "maybe I can teach you how in the summer."

The rest of the day passed quite quickly. My grandparents flew over from Ottery St Catchpole with more presents, including a beautiful snowy owl especially for me.

"Her name is Winter," they told me, "we know Arrow is the family owl, but Winter can run only your messages and live in the owlery at Hogwarts."

I thanked them as we settled down to an explosive Christmas dinner that Mum had prepared with her magical skills. The vegetables did a little dance before we ate them, and the gravy turned to the colour of your choice, (Georgie ate so much her mouth was stained pink!). The highlight was the dessert, Mum's delicious sticky toffee pudding, huge and hot, dripping with chocolate and enchanted so that when we cut into it, several chocolate frogs jumped out!

At the end of the day, after seeing our grandparents out, I retreated to my attic room. Christmas had been lots of fun, but now I couldn't wait to return to Hogwarts for the rest of the magical year!

**Thanks for reviewing!**

**-Silverhand9028**


	15. Gotta Get Back to Hogwarts

**Hi guys! I have some news: Emma, author of Hufflepuff misadventures, can no longer write! She's really busy and active and has a full schedule, and we will still feature her character, but she just won't write from her own POV anymore.**

**Sorry!**

**-Silverhand9028**

December passed in a blur, Healer's Briar becoming blanketed in a thick cloak of crystal white snow.

New Year's Eve was a grand affair, our family clubbed together with the local magical community to pull of a truly amazing fireworks extravaganza! Georgie squealed with delight at every 'FIZZ' or 'BANG'. I especially enjoyed Mum's special firework that created a fully moving Hogwarts logo, with a lion, snake, eagle and badger that ran, slithered, flew and crawled around the star-spangled sky.

Soon, it was time to return to school. Usually, I was always on a downer, having to return to school after the festive time, but now I was actually really excited to return to Hogwarts. I couldn't wait to meet Luna, Callum, Harry and Toni, of course. I was also excited to return to Ravenclaw Tower, continue my Transfiguration studies and everything else that I enjoyed about Hogwarts.

"Don't goooo…." Georgie begged.

We were stood on Platform 9 ¾, the Hogwarts Express had recently rolled into the station.

I had my luggage on a pile with lots of others. Hex was trying to get through to an owl in a cage, upon a suitcase. Mum was hugging me, telling me to say 'hi' to Toni, and Dad was unsubtly gaping at all the magical folk around.

I smiled and ruffled Georgie's hair. "I'll owl you," I reminded her, "and you better send me some more pictures."  
Georgie smiled. "You bet!" she grinned.

"Hey, it's Jack!" roared a voice. I turned and saw Harry run up to me. He greeted me with an exuberant hi-five, before turning and seeing my family, standing confused.

"Oh, Harry, these are my parents and my sister Georgie. Mum, Dad, Georgie, this is my friend Harry."

Harry smiled and greeted my parents politely, as the train's whistle blew.

"We've gotta go," Harry tugged my arm.

"Bye Mum," I gave my parents hugs and kisses, "Bye Dad."

Another whistle blew.

"C'mon Hex!" I swiped my kitten from the luggage pile, "we've got a train to catch!"

There was a pleasant enough train journey from London to Scotland. We shared Every Flavour Beans: I got apple, blueberry, candyfloss and something so incomprehensively gross I had to spit it out, drink water and stuff my face with Fudge Flies – I'm fairly sure it was vomit!

I was in a compartment with Harry, Callum, Luna and another girl in our class, Paige.

I wondered about Emma, and where the shy, petite girl was, but she seemed to have vanished off the face of the earth…

We arrived at Hogwarts at around two, having eaten lunch on the train. I brought my things up to Ravenclaw tower to find a large group of students standing outside.

"The door's not letting us in," scowled Harry.

"This is such a hard riddle," agreed Callum.

I approached the door, ready to try my luck at the riddle. The eagle door-knocker spoke:

"_I have four wings but cannot fly,_

_I never laugh and never cry,_

_On the same spot I'm always found,_

_Toiling away with the wind around._

_What am I?"_

I pondered for a minute.

"I don't know…"

I overheard several Ravenclaw girls discussing it.

"It might be a penguin," suggested Paige, "they have wings but can't fly."  
"I don't think it means actual wings," replied Jessica.

"And there's the bit about the wind: it might mean it's high up." Emily added.  
"They always do a hard one after Christmas holidays, to test our knowledge." Luna agreed.

After about five minutes of futile guesses, an older student arrived.

"I know!" they announced. "Windmills have four wing-like sails, they work with the wind, and go 'around' in a circle!"

The door opened and we piled in, congratulating the student on his brains.

"There you all are!" our prefect, Ella, cried, as we all walked in.

She and all the other students were crowded around what we called the 'Claw Wall'. It was where the students could frame their masterpieces. There hung paintings and sketches of the Rowena Ravenclaw statue or the breathtaking view out of our common room windows. There were prize-winning essays and celebrated homework assignments that had been framed, as well as a shelf containing various trophies won over the years. If Ravenclaw house had one fault, it was pride.

Below this were notices and letters, and at the start of every term, the prefects all held a presentation on upcoming events.

I sat with Hex, who was chasing Paige's black kitten round the sofa.

Prefect Ella started the announcements, holding up a hand-written notice.

"Ravenclaw House is holding the Wizard's Chess Tournament in this common room on the 20th January. Please sign up by the 15th, the winner will get a mystery prize!"

Sam, another prefect, continued. "Also, during the fourth week in February will be our second Quidditch match, we will be playing our rivals, Slytherin House! To support the team: Charlie, Alex, Eleanor, Ross, Tom, Harry and myself, the third week will be preparation week! We will make banners and posters, hats and flags, et cetera. As the creative house, we expect greatness!"

The room was murmurs of excitement, but Hex purred as he dropped a note on my lap.

"What's this…" I wondered. I opened a letter someone had left on my bed.

_Hi Jack,_

_I hope you don't mind me sneaking into your common room; the riddle was really hard! Anyway, I was wondering if you fancied coming round to Slytherin Dungeon for a bit. We need to catch up. Bring Ross and Tom if you like._

_Toni._

I smiled and folded up the letter, then turned towards the door, heading in the direction of the Slytherin common room.

A few minutes later, Ross, Tom and I approached the wall that hid the Slytherin common room.

"Pure-blood," I spoke.

I smiled as the door opened and the room was revealed. The water of the lake gave the room an eerie green glow, with arched windows and lavish furniture. Despite receiving an invitation from Toni, I still felt like an intruder – a rat amongst this hall of pythons, so grand and cold.

A girl approached me, sneering. "What do you think you're doing, you disgusting Ravenclaws?" she snarled, before noticing me: "Ew, and a _mudblood!_ Get out of our common room, _right_ now, before I-"

"Back off Pansy," Toni stepped forwards, facing the girl, "they're with me."  
Pansy didn't seem happy about this, but she glared, before turning and stropping away.

Toni sat us down on a sofa and started the chat.

"How was Christmas?" she started.

"Amazing!" I smiled, Tom and Ross telling her at the same time.

"Umm… Jack…" Toni nervously brushed back a strand or her red hair.

"Yeah?" I replied.

"What was that… present about…?"

Ah, I had completely forgotten about the present. Whilst at Healer's Briar, I had explained my unfriendly predicament with Draco and asked for a little something to try and ease tension…

"Oh… umm… I wanted to be nice. It _is_ Christmas, and we're going to have to get on with each other at some point…" I nervously replied, staring at the floor.

Right on cue, I noticed Draco, standing beside the sofa, clutching the wrapped present.

"So it's not just some cruel joke?" Draco narrowed his eyes, as if threatening me.

"Nope, not at all. Open it!" I replied – perhaps a little too quickly. Toni's bright eyes were burning into me like blue flame, warning me 'This better not be a joke.'

"Yeah, open it!" I heard Ross and Tom agree behind me.

Draco removed the paper, and opened the box, to discover a crystal phial of cloudy green liquid.

"Thanks but… what is it?"

I searched my head for a name of a potion – Mum kept spouting them, so I should recall something green…"

"My mum's own brew of… Volubilis Potion?" I think that's green…

"Isn't it supposed to be yellow?"  
Damn those Slytherins and their knowledge of potions!

"My mum's special recipe. She is a potioneer, you know,"

"Well, let's try some," Draco shrugged.

He took the phial and removed the cork, making a plume of emerald smoke drift out, veiling his face, before drinking…

I smiled, as Draco shuddered, before grinning at me.

But I caught Toni's eye – which she had subconsciously turned grey out of suspicion – I realised she was concerned that there was a catch..

But it wasn't Volubilis Potion at all. It was something a lot, lot different…

**Thanks for reading, reviewing and doing the awesome stuff that makes you awesome people awesome **

**-Silverhand9028**


	16. A Friendship for a Friendship

**Thanks for your reviews, particularly the awesome toe walker and RavenFiction, who gave me an amazing review **

**This chapter is for you! It's a short chapter though…  
Please read, review, and read Toni's version :D**

**-Silverhand9028**

Draco laughed.

Not the cold, sneering laugh I was used to; a happy, relaxed, friendly laugh.

I looked at him, smiling. He smiled back. Then, completely out of character, he got up and sat beside me.

Toni stood, confused. Draco seemed to have forgotten her completely as he grinned once more.

"Dra…" she began, but Draco held up a hand.

"I'm talking to Jack," he ignored her.

"Huh?" Toni glared at me.

"Jack – _duh – _he's my best friend, remember?"  
Toni's eyes flashed crimson. "_What?_"

I blushed, as Draco said: "So how was your Christmas?"

"Erm… fine," I replied.

Toni strode forwards angrily. "Jack, what potion was that?"  
"It's called Unctuous Unction…"  
"What does it do?"

"It makes Draco think I'm his best friend," I admitted.

Toni crossed her arms. "That's not fair, Jack."

"How is it not fair? We're friends now! Isn't that what you wanted?"

"Not like this… Jack, I just thought you'd be man enough to put your differences aside, not have to enchant each other!"  
"Why can't you be happy for me Toni? Why can't you be _grateful_? This is for you, you understand?"

"You're telling me not to be such a _Slytherin_," Toni retorted, "when you're being sly, cunning and cruel! They say Slytherins use any means to achieve their ends, and you're saying you're not like that?"  
Anger and ire burned in my chest.

"I'm _leaving_," I turned on my heel and marched out. Ross and Tom, who had previously slunk away to examine the common room, asked me where I was going but I ignored me.

"Hey Jack, wait for me!" Draco leapt off the sofa but I turned and said, "I've gotta go, Draco, but meet me soon?"

Toni's hair began to turn purple – halfway between anger and sadness – as I left Slytherin Dungeon.

**Thank you for reading! Please review! **

**-Silverhand9028**


	17. Play the Game

I began to feel bad about Gregory's Unctuous Unction, as Draco began to forget about Toni completely, preferring to chat to me.

It was odd, for sure, to become more used to him smiling than scowling, and I couldn't deny I felt a pang of guilt when Draco sat by me in Astronomy and not Toni, but it was nice to have another friend; and a popular, 'cool' friend at that.

It came round to Ravenclaw house's second Quidditch match, versus Slytherin. The previous week had been a week of preparation; last year, Slytherin had apparently wiped the floor with Ravenclaw, so we'd prepared a multitude of banners, flags and more – being the creative house, we were dedicated to supporting our team in the coolest way possible.

So, on a surprisingly blustery February day, I found myself seated in the stands, my striped scarf pulled up around my chin and a beanie hat on my head, with Luna, Callum and some girls - Paige and Jess, I knew two of them were called – to my right. Draco was on the other side. He may have been my new best friend, but nothing would stop him from supporting his house over mine.

Everyone in our house had something showing his or her support. Paige and Jess were holding up a banner reading 'GO CLAWS!' and Luna was flying a flag with the symbol on. She was also wearing a terrific little hat with a life-like bronze eagle on top, which flapped its wings and squawked. Luna was _very_ creative.

As for Callum and I, we had large boxes on our laps, as did around forty other Ravenclaws. They were painted with blue-and-bronze checks, and contained a little surprise inside.

Before long, the Quidditch players filed out. I saw Harry in his keeper's gear, and Ross and Tom exchanging grins.

As Madam Hooch prepared to begin a prefect yelled: "Now!"

Me, Callum and several other Ravenclaw opened the lids on our boxes as the game began. Around thirty blue origami birds soared up and out into the sky, cawing like real eagles! Yes, we Ravenclaws are quite magically creative – we knew that it took more than flags and banners to show magical support!

The Slytherins gasped in awe as the paper birds began to swoop around in neat circles, but they responded with quite a cool chant of: "GO SNAKES!" and a simultaneous firing of green sparks into the stadium. As the supporters settled and began flying their flags and banners, the players took to the skies, the balls soared off in various directions, and game began!

I'm not a huge sports fan, I'll admit, but it was exciting to see the players zoom around the stadium. I saw Harry making an excellent save and Ross and Tom working together to beat the Bludgers!

My heart was in my mouth as the quaffle was flung through the Slytherin hoop and the crowd roared in celebration.

"Ravenclaw, make them score!" the crowd chanted, as we waved our banners and I heard the recognizable caw of Luna's eagle hat.

I saw the Slytherin Chaser flying towards our end, ready to score. I saw Harry leaning forwards on his broom and chewed his lip. I saw Ross and Tom soaring on opposite sides of the stadium…

…and that was when things started to go wrong.

"There's Ravenclaw beater Tom, with a good shot there." the commentator's voice boomed. "Oh! There goes the Slytherin Chasers, they're coming round…"

I leant forwards, clutching my scarf so hard my knuckles turned white.

"Is that the Snitch up there? Could it be? It is! There go the Seekers, but look, here comes a Bludger! Who's it going for?"  
Terrified, I could only watch as Ross dove to the right in an attempt to defend the Seeker. Wielding his bat, he gave the incoming Bludger an almighty _whack_, away from the corner of the sky where they were flying… hurtling like an iron fireball, through the air… towards Tom.

The friendly beater tried to deflect it, but it caught him in the chest. Winded, Tom was knocked off his broom, and he fell, down, down down…


End file.
